Turkey violators & trespassers

[Hamilton Reef]

How much trouble are other landowners having with the turkey violators that trespass from every angle to “shoot and run”?

In area UA Muskegon County I was one landowner that did not get a landowner permit because of the DNR’s system of giving most of the “landowner” permits to all the non-landowners. This is two years in a row of no landowner permit while the non-landowners are free to cruise the roads. Therefore, I can only hope to keep my property quiet until the 4th season.

Aside from the landowner that has to work during the day, the absentee landowners are even more vulnerable. When they come up to hunt, they often find that their property is void of birds with tire tracks indicating their property was also used to violate their neighbors land.

This problem is nothing new and is also repeated with the mushroom pickers and other activities. I actually have more of a "fish and run" problem with the lower White River steelheaders, only because the steelhead activity is longer from fall through spring. They then use the same back access to "shoot and run" turkeys they scouted while they violate steelhead. What a challenge. Posting private land sure doesn’t help much.

[Sarge]

I am not personally a landowner, but hunt on family owned private land. We have no one watching the place since its quite a distance away. While I was up there hunting turkeys this year, I did see something that sort of burned me. We headed to town, and saw camo clad men driving the roads peering intently into the fields and woody areas, then pulling over and going another way doing the same. I don't know what they were doing, but it looked like they were just "road hunting" trying to find some birds any ole where, and hoping to jump out and cut them off at the pass. I also don't know for sure that this is an unacceptable practice for turkeys, it just seemed like a real pain in the butt situation to me at the time. Is that kind of what you were referring to?

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Sarge

[Barney]

I have the same problem with Turkey hunters and mushroom hunters. I think mushroom hunters are more of a problem for me. They roam my posted property all day long looking for mushrooms. I see their foot prints all over the property. I try to check the property ever morning for turkey hunters so that problem is not as bad. What really bothers me is people don't seem to care if your land is posted or not. Thay walk around as if thay own it. People wonder why property owners don't let others hunt. You can't with all the trespassing going on. I also see why more people are fencing there property in.

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Barney

[boehr]

Hamilton...I think you are confussing antlerless deer land owner permits with turkey permits. No such thing in turkey licenses, they are either private land or general licenses. Private land means you can not use them on state lands, general means you can use them on private or state land.

As far as trespass, I agree, it is a problem. The trepass penalties have become more strict by law, rarely applied by a judge, but the current law is more difficult to enforce ever since the written permission was did away with. Trespass problems happen with every outdoor activity and the only way to slow it down is with cooperation with your local law enforcement agencies and your local conservation officer.